Week - 11

Week – 11
I heard back from Spin FX in regards to the rough kicking animation I sent last week. I received positive feedback, but was asked to complete a cleaned up piece of animation that they could use for any potential production companies in the future. I suggested a run cycle as it would give an idea of the style of animation they were looking for by simply pressing play and letting it loop in the background of any future meetings. Shane, the producer, agreed with me and gave me the go ahead. I went with an exaggerated run cycle using “Oxi” to fit his element of air/wind. I am happy with the final result and so were the staff at Spin FX.
After completing the run cycle in October 2009 I had completed the hours required for the Internship program, I phoned Shane in regards to my Internship paperwork, asking to email them to my course convenor/ myself as soon as possible, however I did not receive anything, I called and emailed repeatedly and it wasn’t until March 2010 that I finally received my paperwork. I was a little bit frustrated that it took so long, thinking that they may have not been happy with my work for them, however in the Supervisors Report they had given me a generous grading. I enjoyed aspects of my time with Spin FX, and I wish them all the best with their series. I did learn a fair bit in regards to managing time and resources and what it takes to set up a small studio. I gained a better understanding of my own capabilities also, and have come away knowing what I can accomplish within set deadlines while improving my skills in Flash and After Effects.

Week – 10

I haven’t heard from Spin FX for about a fortnight, so as I waited for a reply I attempted a quick animation of “Oxi”. Using a technique I learnt from Adam Phillip’s “BCA: Flash Animation” I animated “Oxi” by painting very rough, flat colours for each drawing rather than a sketchy line. Adam Phillips uses this technique a fair bit in his “Backenwood” Flash series, especially during moments that require quick animation. This was quite different to how I usually animate, proving to be quite challenging at first, but eventually it made animating a few kicks and punches very simple, while forcing me to make the most of silhouettes in the actions so as not to simply have a spinning blur of random colour. I emailed off the test and am waiting reply, it is quite rough but at this stage it will be easier to make any changes to the overall movement rather than cleaning up my drawings only to have the animation rejected or changed significantly.